Make Yourself A Dang Quesadilla

Okay, raise your hand if you picked up on that Napoleon Dynamite reference. Anyone? Anyone? Okay, let’s take a moment to catch up.

Now, time for some Scrambled Egg Quesadillas!

Last year I was at our local discount bookstore and paid $1 for a copy of Quick, Quicker, Quickest: 350 delicious meals ready in 20, 30, or 40 minutes! by Better Homes and Gardens. If you click here it looks like Amazon has it for pretty close to that price, too. This is not a cookbook recommendation or review, though. In fact, the cookbook itself has been only mildly useful. For $1 it was worth it, though, just for this one recipe (page 241 in the book, in the 30-Minute Meals section) which is our new favorite, and we now eat in excess at least once a week.

These are quick, super affordable, and pretty family friendly depending on what you add. I add a little spinach or artichoke inside mine, so this is pretty dang customizable. Which appears not to be a word… which is weird because I hear people say that all the time.

Abbreviated version of the recipe is at the bottom of the post.

Gather those ingredients… no worries, I’ll wait here for you:

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 tbs diced green chilies (like you can buy in a cute little can)

1 tbs butter

6 eggs

3/4 cup grated queso quesadilla cheese (as seen in the picture below)

salt & pepper to taste

cayenne pepper (optional)

four-six 10-inch flour tortillas

Nonstick cooking spray

Toppings such as salsa, hot sauce, etc.

We did change it up a bit from the original cookbook recipe… substituting ingredients we like more, especially the cheese. I loooove this Cacique Queso Quesadilla stuff. This is not a sponsored post, but if someone tried to bribe me with this stuff… well, my willpower would be tested. It melts to perfection. Perfection I tell you.

Heat a large skillet or pan on medium heat and start off with melting your butter. Okay, fine, I used just a smidgen more than 1 tbs… I just really like butter.

Add your diced onions to the skillet and let them cook for a few minutes until they get soft and a little browned.

Toss the 3 tbs of diced green chilies in there and let those cook 2-3 minutes as well. This is not pictured above… but the chilies are totally what makes the flavor of this dish.

While that cooks, crack your eggs into a bowl and add some salt and pepper. Beat the eggs an extra moment or two, so they will cook up a little bit fluffy. Add about 1/3 of the cheese and stir it in.

Once your onion/chili combo is ready, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it cool down just a minute. Spread the onions/chilies evenly around the skillet, using a spatula. Add your eggs to the pan, and tilt the pan around until it evenly covers the bottom.

Let the eggs cook just a bit, then stir them. It may look really brown from the cooked buttery onion stuff in the pan – no worries, as it cooks it won’t look so dramatic.

Occasionally flip and gently stir around the eggs, making sure they cook through. When they’re done, turn off the heat.

Spread a little more of your cheese over the middle of half the tortillas. I just take the grater and grate it right over the top of them.

Spoon some egg mixture from the skillet into the middle of those tortillas, right over the cheese. Spread it out a little, but not too close to the edge – you don’t want it to get squished out. Spread the rest of your cheese over top of the egg on each one, as shown above.Either clean up your skillet from before, or get another one ready. Heat it up until it’s warm, over medium heat, and spray some non-stick cooking spray on it. Put the other half of the tortillas over top of the egg and cheese covered ones. Carefully transport a quesadilla into your skillet.

Cook it on one side for 1-3 minutes, until lightly browned and the cheese has melted. Flip it over, and cook the other side.

I use a cast-iron press made by Lodge company, to press the quesadillas down. If you don’t have a press, you can either just skip it being pressed down and plain-old cook it, or you can use the bottom of a smaller pan to press it. I do love this cast-iron press, though. It will last longer than anything else on earth, and makes a killer panini too.

Seriously,yum. You can see I wasn’t lying about adding the spinach to mine. I use a knife or pizza-cutter to slice them into quarters (or eighths for the kids) and serve them with sides like a southwestern salad, cold pineapple, or sliced oranges.

Anyone else finding ways to make every dinner actually be breakfast? Breakfast is just the bees knees, you know? Any other $1 cookbook finds? Or Napoleon Dynamite references?

Scrambled Egg Quesadillas

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 tbs diced green chilies (like you can buy in a cute little can)

1 tbs butter

6 eggs

3/4 cup grated queso quesadilla cheese (as seen in the picture below)

salt & pepper to taste

cayenne pepper (optional)

four-six 10-inch flour tortillas

Nonstick cooking spray

Toppings such as salsa, hot sauce, etc.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Melt your butter. Add your diced onions and cook 3-4 minutes until soft and lightly browned. Add the chilies and cook 2-3 minutes. While that cooks, crack your 6 eggs into a bowl and add some salt and pepper. Beat the eggs an extra moment or two. Stir in about 1/3 of the cheese.

Once your onion/chili is ready, turn the heat down to medium-low. Spread the onions/chilies evenly around the skillet. Add your eggs to the pan, and tilt the pan until it evenly covers the bottom. Occasionally flip and gently stir around the eggs, making sure they cook through. When they’re done, turn off the heat.

Spread a little more of your cheese over the middle of half the tortillas. Spoon some egg mixture into the middle of the tortillas, right over the cheese. Spread it out a little, but not too close to the edge. Spread the rest of your cheese over top of the egg on each one.

Heat a skillet until it’s warm, over medium heat, and spray some non-stick cooking spray on it. Put the other half of the tortillas over top of the egg and cheese covered ones. Carefully transport a quesadilla into your skillet. Cook it on one side for 1-3 minutes, until lightly browned and the cheese has melted. Flip it over, and cook the other side. Cut the quesadilla into quarters and enjoy!

PS: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own, and I have not received compensation for anything written. Keepin’ it real.

Hi there! I'm Dani, and it's lovely to meet you. My little family just moved to the quaint little college-town of Ithaca, NY and are loving it. Come hang out with me and talk about food, books, art, and other odd little things.